Saadi Yousef: At Kerak Citadel

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Jun 18, 2014 Iraq
[Saadi Yousef: Image from Wikimedia] [Saadi Yousef: Image from Wikimedia]

Saadi Yousef: At Kerak Citadel

By : Elliott Colla

 At Kerak Citadel

 

Always, at sunset, the castle walls begin to breathe.

The war is over—it has been two or twenty centuries now.

But then suddenly when night falls, the war comes back.

Soldiers in their towers light their candle, far from the gusting wind

And alone, they cry to themselves.

The Messenger will come.

Most definitely he will come, carrying his head on the tip of a spear.

Perhaps he was exhausted and, in his long wait, forgot that spears blossom in the morning.

Do you think he will wake up? The soldiers in the tower,

The candle slowly fading, the morning that has not come,

And the he-will-arrive Messenger, his head fixed on a pike,

He still has not arrived.

What will those soldiers do with the wetness of the morning?

What are they doing even now?

****

The citadel walls have stopped breathing.

And the candle, now a lump of coal, in the water, in the wind.

The wars have ended.

But they will always call out to their soldiers.

Always, every evening.

And the soldiers will come.

… … …

… … …

… … …

Always

And always,

The soldiers will weep.

-----

Amman, December 14, 1992.

From Saadi Yousef, Aysha bint al-Basha (Beirut: Maktabat al-Jamal, 2014)
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Oct 1, 2013 Lebanon
Medrar TV مدرار تي في By :
Medrar TV مدرار تي في

A Scenography Workshop by Hussein Baydoun

A Scenography workshop by Hussein Baydoun

8-16 September 2013

Falaki Theater, Cairo, Egypt

 

Hussein Baydoun is a Lebanese artist, architect, and scenographer who is known for his unique approach to set design. Baydoun frequently participates in the creation and development of performances from their early stages with the view that scenography is an essential component to the creation of theatrical work, one no less important than the script. His designs are often inspired by the performance spaces in which he works, where he creates fascinating sets from whatever is available as he challenges conventional notions about theater production, such as in his most recent performance "Alice," which was produced in collaboration with Lebanese playwright and director Sawsan Bou Khaled. In September, Baydoun returned to Cairo to lead a scenography workshop following the same vision. At the American University in Cairo`s Falaki Theater, he worked with six upcoming set designers, in addition to amateurs, on creating imaginative environments from the remnants of old sets and other discarded objects. This video highlights the vision and development of the workshop as Baydoun describes the aim of his teaching methods.  


 

      

     [This video is produced by Medrar TV and is featured as part of a new partnership with Jadaliyya Culture.]